L is For
by mellish
Summary: There has to be some reason why his name is L, after all. Mostly Watari and kid!L Updated.
1. Lazy

**L is For**

**I. Lazy**

When L would get up in the morning (whether or not he had any sleep the previous night was a different matter altogether), the first thing he did was hunch over to the breakfast table and have his morning tea, and a couple of cakes and cookies to go with it. Once that was done he'd head for the bathroom, brush his teeth, and if he thought he needed it he'd shower, and if not, he'd simply wash his sleep-deprived face. Then he'd stretch for a long time, and scratch too. Afterwards he'd slouch over to his laptop and sit in front of it, and remain there the whole day, working on cases, contacting the police, receiving the information Watari would send, and if he was bored, playing Minesweeper.

When Watari wasn't out representing him or busy receiving more clues, he would stay in the headquarters. He knew L well, contrary to what the police thought, and he also knew that the genius was just a boy. He was special, gifted – but still young, and lacking what most boys needed: friends his own age, loving parents, the proper diet (L was very fond of his sweets) and ample exercise. That last one was especially hard to get him to do.

"I know the case is important, but perhaps…some fresh air would do you good?"

L would smile a little. "You know I haven't been outside in ages, and it's not like it affects me. I hate going out. It's creepy."

"But," Watari persisted. "Children your age at least need to _move_. And I imagine that, with all that sugar you're devouring, you'd need it more than most!"

The young detective blinked. "You're saying I should be hyper?"

Watari hated arguing with L, but this was getting exasperating. The boy's body, which was already steeped in bad posture, didn't have to be lethargic as well. The old man nodded, knowing it wouldn't do much anyway. "If being hyper will get you to move around some, and if sugar makes you hyper, I don't see why not."

L sighed. He got up from his place on the floor and scratched his head wearily.

Then he did ten jumping jacks.

"Happy?" He asked, puffing heavily. A single bead of sweat crept down from his unruly bangs.

Watari stared.

L shrugged and went back to work, humming sweetly.

* * *

A/N: This is supposed to be a series of random snippets, with no particular timeframe, that speculate on a certain aspect of L that could explain the letter he chose for his codename. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Comments and reviews are all greatly appreciated. :D

Special thanks to A for some editing.


	2. Like

**L is For**

**II. Like**

For L's 13th birthday, Watari gave him the latest set of computer technology, including five monitors (still quite chunky, then), a huge set of speakers, three keyboards, the earliest prototype of a webcam, and quite a lot of hacking software with novel-length user manuals. He also gave him a thick file of the latest cases he might wish to pursue; and, knowing that any respectable kind of book would be promptly ignored (the boy seemed to read those with his fingers rather than his eyes), he also got him the latest _tankobon_ of Akazukin ChaCha. The last gift, at least, merited a discriminating glance from his young, er, protégé? – and then he went straight back to clattering away on his old computer, setting down his two pointer fingers in a rather unnerving staccato rhythm.

Watari labored on anyway, entirely unruffled by that apparent lack of reaction. He brought out an intricately wrapped golden box, and said, in as grand a voice as his wheezy one could muster, "And this is a gift from Interpol. While this," another, infinitely larger package was introduced, "Is from the CIA. They're thank you gifts, really, for solving those cases, but I thought I'd save them up for your birthday." L looked up long enough to peer at the golden box, take note of its size, and incline his head. He reached out a hand for it, and Watari obliged him. L picked away at the ribbons with his thumbs and forefingers, lifting the lid to reveal…a stunning golden watch.

He stared at it blankly for a while. Then he put it aside and faced his screen again.

"You don't like it?"

"I thought it might be chocolate." The boy paused, and thoughtfully scratched an ear. "Besides, I never asked for anything more than the money. They really shouldn't bother."

Watari repressed a sigh with utmost care, and quietly left the room. L got back to work – or rather, returned to building and destroying SimCities.

The older man returned, a good hour and a half later, bearing the most sinful looking cake one could lay eyes on – it had a layer of frosting two inches thick and was studded with all manner of gum drops, jelly beans, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and sugar crystals; it was one foot tall, wobbling precariously on the plate that carried it. Struggling rather, Watari set it down unceremoniously on the floor, where L was still squatting, bent over his latest half-demolished city. The old inventor produced a fork from his coat pocket, and set it beside the plate. He waited.

L swung his head about and stared first at the cake, then at Watari, then back at the cake. He took the fork without a word, and, very carefully, cut into the cake. It was impossible for him to cut through it the whole way through; he had to dig in repeatedly, and slowly, so that it didn't crumble apart. When he was about a fourth way done, he licked his lips clean, looked up at Watari, and smiled. It was a huge, and rather eerie, smile – but it seemed genuine, and that was _very _rare.

"Thank you, Watari." He ate another forkful. "I enjoyed it immensely." He paused, then added, with some doubt, "Even if it's not my birthday."

For what he thought was L's 13th birthday, Watari got a headache; and L? He probably got several new cavities.

* * *

A/N: I finally got around to a Chapter 2, after three years. XD I really like L, and this fandom, and somehow recently got dragged back into it. I put in old 90's technology in this drabble (I didn't know L's age in the earlier chapter - now that I do, I realize that laptops probably weren't very common then. My mistake. D:) As always, comments would be greatly appreciated. :D


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